I have been asked this so many times... does the wedding industry inflate prices when they hear it's a wedding?
Here is my honest answer (as a former wedding photographer)... NO. Did I charge more for a wedding than a 50th birthday party or a family portrait session? Yes, absolutely. I charged A LOT more for a wedding.
Was I taking advantage of the emotional sell? Absolutely not.
The main reasons I charged more for a wedding were: the unseen amount of work involved in the 12+ months leading up to the wedding, the skill level needed on the day, the INTENSE pressure to create perfect "portfolio level work" no matter what the reality of the situation- but mostly it is to compensate for the time AFTER the wedding in post production.
Little known fact about wedding photography - the real job is sitting at a computer editing photos. Photographers spend many hours behind the computer carefully selecting and editing photos. They make adjustments, crop, and adjust colors to ensure each image it's best. Don't forget the time it takes for batching, renaming, importing, exporting and uploading the photos and preparing them for delivery.
Do you think this justifies why photographers charge more for weddings than for other types of shoots?
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This one might get me in trouble, but here goes… I think most people (brides) lie about this. I cannot tell you how many brides I have known, as past clients or my own friends, who said “Oh, I am not doing anything different for the wedding- that’s not me.”
And then I watch them hire personal trainers, buy Shred memberships (and actually go!)… Don’t even get me started on hair, nails and skin treatments.
This is truly a taboo topic- one that many people say one thing but often do another. So let’s talk about what you are spending on your wedding beauty prep… and what services cost you the most?